Thunderfoot
The survivors of the Comanche and Apache tribes that inhabited reservations of Western Texas, the Thunderfoot have since earned a fearsome reputation as a raider-tribe in West and South-West Texas. Known for their attacks upon cattle drives, caravans, and settlements, the Thunderfoot are split among many war bands that range across West Texas attacking travelers and settlements along the fringes of civilization. History In the Pre-War days, as was typical of the pre-war US government they took the remnants of the long since defeated Apache and Comanche tribes and moved them onto a reservation for "management reasons" however it is no secret they were simply looking to avoid having another Indian uprising as they had in the 1970s. Since then the federal government had kept a close eye on the medium-sized reservation that the tribesmen lived upon and when the world started to go to hell with the outbreak of the Great War, the reservation found itself relatively untouched. Due to the seclusion of their reservation, they weren't the target of any nuclear weapons and were able to avoid being robbed and looted, simply because of the poverty they lived in. Eventually when the bombs stopped falling, the fires ceased to burn and the chatter of gunfire and screams of agony ceased to fill the sky, It was decided by the tribes chief at the time; Chief Great River that some of the tribe's men should venture into town and see what had become of their white overlords. Taking what few weapons they had managed to keep hidden from the ATF they went into town, finding the place a smoldering ruin as the result of a fire that broke out in the aftermath of the bombings. The tribesmen, managed to locate some untouched food stuffs in the town general store, along with take what few weapons and little ammunition that hadn't already been stolen from the sporting goods store and police station. Taking these meager supplies back to their homes they survived for many years simply off of what they could hunt and grow along with using the firearms to defend themselves when the occasional interloper traveled onto their lands. However, it wasn't until the years 2130 that the generally peaceful tribes were incited to violence. Among the Comancheros of the Texas-Mexico wasteland, Foster Dole was one of the few lesser known bandits. The son of a Lipan tribal Foster had spent most of his days fighting against the fledgling forces in the Distrito Capital, however when his gang had been slaughtered in a fight with a particularly tough band of mercenaries he had rode North in search of new gang members. Hoping to inspire a few of the tribesmen to join him, Foster gave a long speech about the evils of those white interlopers and their Hispanic companions that helped ruin the world. The tribesmen, already superstitious about the radiation and various bandits they encountered bought into the story wholeheartedly. However to Foster's dismay only three of the tribals agreed to join him, and as he rode off he couldn't have imagined the kind of monstrosity he had created. The tribesmen promptly took up their arms and proclaimed a war where they would "rain thunder and hot death down upon their enemies". Under the command of soon to be famous; Chief Wichita they formed the tribe into what is now known as the Thunderfoot tribe. The Chief began to lead raids against the small villages and towns that dotted the wastes, destroying them and butchering the inhabitants, those braves who didn't accompany him were instructed to break up into war bands and defeat and destroy the interlopers who for so long had sat upon their land. Eventually, as the tribe spread out, joining with other bands of tribals and forming the enormous war bands that plague the West Texas plains today. Chief Wichita would go down in the history books as the fearsome warrior who would lead his war band to destroy the large town of Brownwood, inhabited by the remnants of a US infantry division, the town put up a hell of a fight but in the end it was razed and the townsfolk with it and gave the Thunderfoot access to a number of powerful military grade weapons. Today the Thunderfoot have gained a reputation for their fierce fighting prowess, their attacks on anyone moving up or down the cattle trails the connect Southern Texas-Tamaulipas with such cattle markets as Fort Stockton, the Permian Basin and The Oilfields, along with harassing any settlement on the frontier of civilization. Government The Thunderfoot have no one form of government as it varies from tribe to tribe, war band to war band but the general composition of a Thunderfoot tribe is a Chief as the group's chief monarch, below him are any number of Chieftains that act as his loyal Lieutenants, they lead scouting parties, lord over the village when he is away, act as his proxy and so on. Below the Chieftain are the Braves, the backbone of any Thunderfoot tribe, the braves are the warriors of the tribe, fighting its enemies, hunting, fishing and scouting for the tribe. Below the Braves are the squaws, the children and the elderly. These people are essentially there to keep the village or war camp in shape, tend to their crops if they have any and of course in the case of the women, act as the wives to the men. Economy The Thunderfoot produce very little, what they eat they either grow or kill and what they need to keep up their attacks and so on they either trade for or make themselves. The average Thunderfoot village will have a plot of land set out to be used as a vegetable patch, a designated member of the village will act as a blacksmith and carpenter while another will be tasked with dealing with outside traders. Very few merchants are allowed to trade amongst the Thunderfoot but those who are, aren't usually selling just food and water, many are generally arms merchants who the Thunderfoot rely upon to keep their tribe's weaponry supplied with fresh ammunition. Relations *'Lipan - '''The various tribes of Lipan and the Thunderfoot have had a history of not getting along, and in several cases, groups of Lipan and Thunderfoot have fought. They clash over just about everything, their beliefs, their Gods, Farm land, Grazing rights, and so on. Needless to say, the two tribes have had a very turbulent relationship in the past and continue to today. *'Comancheros - 'Many Comancheros can find refuge among the Thunderfoot due to the Thuderfoot's reverence for Foster Dole, himself a Comanchero. Thus it is not uncommon to see Comanchero gangs hiding out amongst the tribes of the Thunderfoot. However, on several occasions, Comancheros have used the Thunderfoot's trust for them to seize control of tribes, land and in more than one case; the tribes cattle. *'Texican Caravan Company - '''The only real interaction the Texicans and the Thunderfoot are through a few far-flung caravans that trade amongst the tribes. Notable Thunderfoot *Chief Gomda - The descendant of an Apache senator, Chief Gomda has earned the reputation for attacking ranches to not just kill off the settlers living there but also to collect their cattle which he either uses to feed his war band or to sell off on the black market. In his heyday, he and his fellow tribesmen had collected a herd of some 5,000 beeves and had been trading them to black market dealers in exchange for arms and ammunition. However, Chief Gomda and most of his tribe were wiped out when workers from the Salt Family ran them out of their settlement in modern day Notrees. *Chief Black River - Leader of the Southern most war band of Thunderfoot, he and his warriors have been making a name for themselves as they rampage along the Northern bank of the Rio Grande, attacking cattle drives and caravans, along with clashing tribes of Lipan. It was this tribe of Thunderfoot that would kill the family of the later infamous killer and Indian Fighter; Roger Stilkins, it was on the raid of his family's homestead that they gained the penchant for drowning their victims in the Rio Grande. Category:Groups Category:Tribals Category:Texas